15 Worst Possible Countries To Be Gay

There are countries in this world that take homophobia extremely serious. Forget about bullying and calling names! These vicious governments treat LGBT citizens worse than they treat criminals.

Gay tourists should leave their rainbow speedos at home and avoid holding hands. Ruthless penal codes work faster than any embassy. There is no running away from an angry mob chanting in a foreign language. All they want is the head of what they consider the incarnation of evil.

1. Nigeria

The biggest African economy reveals a dark pattern existing throughout the entire continent. Being gay remains the supreme taboo topic, and you could call yourself lucky not to end up behind bars or lynched by a tribal militia.

While most nations struggle to come to terms with the situation, Nigeria is one of the few that took a big leap backward. President Goodluck Jonathan recently signed into law the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. As a consequence, even a mild support towards the LGBT community grants you up to 14 years in jail.

A worrying poll revealed that more than 98% of the Nigerian population opposes the idea of same-sex relationships receiving any rights or protection. You could call Nigeria the most homophobic country in the world. However, that would make other nations jealous.

2. Belarus

The Byelorussian government came to the bizarre conclusion that gay activism is a threat to national security.

Of course, that’s just a decoy used to hide that the last dictatorship in Europe is ready to retrace Russia’s footsteps on the matter. Only a fool would believe sexual freedom stands a chance in a country known for rigged elections. For decades the vote always ends up with Alexander Lukashenko winning.

The difference between being proud of your lifestyle and endangering national security is as thin as that 5% of the population that has nothing against the minority.

Belarus media doesn’t see the harm in publishing opinion articles where gay individuals get described as ‘the result of spoiling and sinfulness in the world.’

3. Uganda

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act failed to enter into effect after the Constitutional Court ruled it invalid. Even so, it stimulated wave after wave of homophobia that ravaged the country’s sexual minorities.

Uganda is one of the worst possible countries to express your real orientation. Not only you risk a life sentence in a gruesome penitentiary system, but you will have the media publishing your address and encouraging vigilantes to hunt you down.

Even tabloids got involved in the onslaught. ‘100 Pictures of Uganda’s Top Homos Leak’ and ‘Exposed! Top 200 homosexuals’ gave haters arousing targets for their persecution.

David Bahati is the name of the monster that thought of introducing the death penalty for gays. The Parliament member labeled them as with awful words, showing once more just how intolerant Uganda can be.

4. Zimbabwe

‘If you see people parading themselves as Lesbians and Gays, arrest them and hand them over to the police!’

That’s how Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe encouraged an anti-gay campaign that made the country a living hell for members of sexual minorities. He repeatedly refers to gays in ways we are not allowed even to reproduce inside quotation marks.

The dictator in office since 1980 ignored all international pressures and went ahead with outrageous stunts. Mugabe framed his predecessor, Canaan Banana, who had to flee the country after being found guilty of eleven charges of sodomy, attempted sodomy, and indecent assault.

It doesn’t end there. Mugabe’s conceived a cruel punishment for a gay couple that demanded marriage rights. He locked them up, promising freedom if one of them gets pregnant.

5. Iran

Iran tops the list as the world’s leading country regarding sex change operations. Hell, they even do more interventions than Thailand.

You should have guessed the reason by now. The government considers gays as a mistake of nature and wants to do something about it.

As constructive as it might sound, the solution put a big red exclamation mark on the map on top of the Islamic Republic of Iran. LGBT rights are virtually non-existent, and death penalties are as obvious as the tickets you get for speeding.

However, it wasn’t always like that! Ancient Persia, the forerunner of present-day Iran, acted very casually on the issue.

6. Maldives

The Maldives seems to be a tropical paradise ideal for a gay couple that seeks intimacy and protection. Guess again!

Stranded in the Indian Ocean, the Republic of Maldives has a legal system that incorporates the Sharia. The fact that Islamic Law doesn’t keep a blind eye on the gay issue should be a no-brainer.

Everything from sex to marriage is illegal, and punishment varies too widely for one to dare to risk. Lucky ones go home after an intensive whipping session that might arouse those with an SM fetish. The less fortunate fell victim to vigilante attacks and rare public executions.

The Maldives often work as the perfect trap for gay tourists that don’t invest time in studying the lay of the land. A romantic stroll down the beach can quickly evolve to an awkward encounter with fishers flaunting throat slashes.

7. Vatican City

Vatican City is a stronghold of old-school morality inside a Europe that gradually granted gays full rights.

However, same-sex relations are legal in the smallest country in the world, because of aligning with the Italian legal system. Marrying or demanding additional rights while flooding the streets in rainbow colors is an entirely different story.

The Vatican has good reasons to deny the LGBT community extended freedom. Just imagine how the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church would have looked. Nevertheless, we have to give credit to the current Pope for developing a harsh stance on homophobia.

Gay travelers visiting Vatican have plenty of reasons to contemplate the past. Homosexuality was common in the Roman Empire, they didn’t even have a name for it. Everything changed once Christianity took over!

8. India

India often flaunts the title ‘biggest democracy in the world.’ At the same time, it fails to acknowledge the rights of its LGBT community.

A gleam of hope emerged in 2009 when a court ruled against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that had criminalized gay intercourse until then. However, the decision applied only for the National Capital Territory of Delhi and lasted only until 2013.

Yes, you heard right. While most nations excel at granting gay rights and delivering a badly needed justice, others retrace those steps back and seek refuge in homophobia.

One should expect a different stance in a land that gave us Kamasutra. A trip back to Ancient India shows just how open-minded our ancestors used to be.

Old Hindu texts abound in references to transgender gods or deities engaging in same-sex relations. Those ancient scholars were for sure more open than their Christian and Islamic counterparts.

10. Sudan

Not only do they have to decide whether to go north or south of the newly drawn border, but they would be startled to meet the penalties backed by the law. The only good news is that, like most other countries governed by the Islamic Sharia Law, the culprits pay for their acts gradually.

There is a big difference between 100 lashes on first offense and death for a third. Does kissing and holding hands count as separate?

The worst part about living in a country that treats gay worse than criminals has to do with hiding all the time. Freedom Sudan is the only LGBT association in the entire country. Even terrorist organizations operating on Sudanese soil have fewer worries about their operations seeing the daylight.

11. Russia

Russian is probably the most homophobic nation that still hasn’t banned same-sex relations.

But we are most likely talking years before this could happen. Putin enforced the anti-gay propaganda law that enables authorities to shut down any pride manifestation. Their excuse is protecting the innocent minds of children from such toxic influences.

Russian homophobia reached hilarious levels after pop singer Madonna mentioned the delicate topic during a St. Petersburg concert. An $11 million lawsuit against the star claimed her intervention ‘hurt Russia’s birthrate and, as a result, the nation’s ability to adequately maintain its army.’

The worsening situation of the LGBT made many stars cancel their trips to Mother Russia. Actor Wentworth Miller and singer Sam Smith both feared Putin would unleash an angry mob on them.

12. Cameroon

Gay rights activist Eric Lembembe was discovered dead and mutilated in his own home back in 2013. That was just the tip of the iceberg in a wave violence that targeted the leaders of the LGBT community with surgical precision.

Cameroon’s legal system might not be as harsh as in other countries on our list (max. 5 years), but state-sponsored homophobia makes the country equally deadly for gays and lesbians. Some of the stories are perplexing.

Ordering a cream-based liquor was enough evidence for police to arrest two young men outside a nightclub. Their tour of Cameroon’s infamous penitentiaries most likely ended brutally.

Some thought of ways to use Cameroon’s anti-gay agenda to their advantage. An immigrant sought asylum in the UK on the grounds of persecutions for his sexual preferences. The investigation found no visible gay signs.

13. Yemen

Yemen judges are hasty and anxious to serve what they perceive as justice.

If Al Qaeda and ISIL are not enough reasons for gay couples to abandon the idea of visiting the poorest country in the Middle East, we will brief them on what lies ahead. Yemen assigns corporal punishment on a first offense and quickly proceeds to conduct executions the second time.

The only good news here is that lesbians face a somehow milder sentence between 3 to 7 years in jail. Given the precarious rights women have in Islamic nations, we doubt that’s the only thing happening to them.

When will rainbow flags fly over Sana’a? A poll suggests this is the one country with the least chances of catching up with the rest of the world. Personal freedoms are as allusive here as desert mirages.

14. Turkey

Same-sex relations are not illegal in Turkey, but that’s where the bright side starts to get shady.

‘I believe homosexuality is a biological disorder and this disease needs treatment.’ The homophobic statement belonging to the Ex-Minister of Women and Family Affairs would have attracted a consistent fine in Europe. Turkey has better things to do, right?

Pride parades dare to go only on the streets of cosmopolite cities like Istanbul. However, such displays often end with violence from homophobes that simply can’t resist the urge.

Turkey made modest progress by having transgender individuals running for Parliament. Do you see a bill to grant LGBT rights as imminent?

Stop dreaming! There is virtually no chance of that happening in a country heading full speed towards totalitarianism.

15. Saudi Arabia

It’s probably no surprise that Saudi Arabia is the worst country to be gay.

We will not bore you with details. Torture, castration, and even execution, all exist under the same traditional legal system that bans women from driving cars. Saudi Arabia made the headlines not for each year’s execution count, but for hilarious ways in which innocent straight individuals were busted for doing wrong.

What’s the harm of flying a pretty-colored flag? That’s what a Saudi doctor thought, unaware of the pride symbol. You will be happy to know he got away with a fine.

Painting rainbows on school walls should cheer things up, especially for the poor kids that have to learn by heart the Quran. The poor teacher that had the idea was still rotting in jail last time news agencies inquired about the case.